A henhouse made of soft cheese.
Torrey plan, $5k/mo, $45 sewer, $35 trash, $50 dog, $160/y insurance.
In a week similar unit went for $4.6k.
Unit condition was OK, carpet was filthy.
+ Privacy, nice views, wild animals and bats.
- No direct sunlight, nowhere to go for a walk.
! Child stepped on a piece of glass in the pool.
! Dishwasher had debris from deteriorated internals.
! Stove and oven never worked well.
! Washer and dryer are cheap junk, will destroy your apparel and your sanity by rumbling and jumping around.
- Feels like a 1500 sqft apartment, space wasted on stairs and useless areas - nowhere to put a shoerack!
- Laundry room on the ground floor, enjoy extra workouts.
- First floor, where you spend most of the time, is like a small studio.
- Self-scratching walls with illusion of freshness - cheap paint slapped on top of dirt, hair, dents, insects.
! Master bathroom is extremely impractical, shower - nowhere to put your shampoo or luffa other than the floor.
! Garage doors unreasonably narrow, enjoy scratched mirrors. Occasionally would not open with remotes.
!! Blower heater is right next to the master bedroom, enjoy sleeping with a loud noise.
!! During rains with wind, water pours inside master bedroom through the balcony window.
Community has known issues with rainwater leaks, most residents are familiar. 7634 has a history of leaking deck.
Feb 25 - ceiling in the master bedroom got wet and started to drip. Took 6 weeks to "address" the issue, multiple contractors visiting to provide repair estimates (management company was looking for the cheapest option). Drying process took 3 weeks, entire master suite was locked out with a noisy drying device running 24/7. Contractors left several walls damaged and I had to fix them myself. Management company offered $500 credit for the trouble, how generous.
Oct 25 - heavy rain, a wet spot and audible droplets of water hitting the ceiling thereafter.
Now the cherry on top: Whittington Property Management Inc and their protégé.
Belinda was a nice community manager, mysteriously* disappeared in Oct 25 and replaced with a new one, LG.
LG impressed day one - disclosed the full list of residents by CCing everyone in a bulk email.
I notified LG of a leak and asked to move out 1 month early, declined.
I let various people in yet again to inspect the unit.
One day a community technician showed up without any communication to do something useless, didn't let him in. Then I received an email from LG claiming addressing a moisture issue is considered urgent and I "made a decision to postpone" repairs. LG also generously offered to relocate to the worst unit of the community (despite me stressing many times we want to move out) that sat on the market for a long time and throw $4500 on it. Turned that nonsense down and joked we could stay mo-to-mo if the rent went down to $4500, to which LG responded "we will not be approving a reduction". A day after notice to vacate it went on market for $4500 and the "urgent moisture issue" just vanished, as if never existed, nothing was done to address it, ever, which is a violation of the lease agreement. The unit was rented out shortly so new residents can enjoy "Luxury Living".
The moisture results in mold growth, no treatment was ever done, no idea how affected the unit was/is and if we were exposed.
LG assessed the unit condition to be move-in ready, with clean carpet and no paint damage to point out. Yet, slapped a $1090 bill for paint job because "I was instructed by the community owner to do a full interior color change for all homes upon move out." and $295 for carpet cleaning because "it is a standard requirement for all move outs.", after confirming in writing "paint was found to be in good condition" and not providing any proofs of any damage; both in violation of the lease agreement. Community owner can't order any improvements at my expense and deductions are subject to California Civil Code § 1950.5. Neither was I obligated to provide proofs of professional cleaning according to the lease agreement, which I read start to finish and LG obviously did not, it clearly states "you may clean the Residence yourself". I have an industrial carpet washing machine to keep my home clean at all times and I spent half a day washing entire place one last time before move-out, so $295 for useless carpet "cleaning" is an insult to injury.
Overall: everything in life has pros and cons. You spot some when touring the property and make a consious decision to move in. Then sh*t hits the fan and you realize how dishonest, anticonsumer and potentially dubious the management company is. Costa Pointe was the most expensive, yet the worst place I've ever rented, with the highest amount of indefencible move-out charges. Renting out units with known/reported water leaks repeatedly is beyond me and probably unlawful. read more